


The New Recruit

by DRO618



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-01 18:25:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6531103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DRO618/pseuds/DRO618
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The new recruit in Project Freelancer has everyone wondering his story. Who is he and why is he here after selection had already finished?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning Of Something Great

**Author's Note:**

> I appreciate you taking the time to read my story. This follows Red vs. Blue timeline but I just added my own creation to the storyline. I do not own anything associated with Red vs. Blue except for my own characters. Any criticism left behind is very helpful and is encouraged. Thanks again!

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.  
Man that was getting annoying to hear. I mean I know this is prison but this is almost unbearable. How do they expect me to reform if all I can focus on is the relentless dripping off that damn leaky pipe? I mean I’m normally a pretty chill guy but even I can’t handle that shit. Now, where the hell was Tyson with that laundry cart. He was supposed to be here like ten minutes ago. He better get here soon if he values all of his bones. I’m in a really bad mood.

“Hey, freak. Why are you standing so close to the cell bars? Surely you weren’t waiting for the laundry cart. After the warden found out that Tyson was smuggling prisoners out, that would look really bad for you?”

Well, it would appear that Tyson was found out. It’s a shame; he was my nonviolent way out of this hellhole. I guess ill just have to do this the hard way then. All I need to do is get to the laundry room; I can continue the plan from there. I guess that really only leaves me with one course of action then. Time to heckle the guard.

“Me? I would never ever try to break out of this place. I wouldn’t get to see your pretty face anymore. Everyone knows how much I love seeing your face.” Ah, there is the ever-predictable blush that I was expecting form him. He really is way too temperamental for a prison guard. I don’t really care though, it just makes my job all the easier.

“You really need to learn how to shut your mouth you freak. After all, you’re not really in the best of standings in this place. No one would really notice if you showed up with a few extra bruises on your face, now would they?” He grinned like he had just made the greatest comeback of all time. Of course, he thinks that. I have seen animals with more intelligence that him. He also apparently doesn’t really know why I'm here if he thinks he can take me on in a fight. I have fought and killed the best fighters on this planet but he thinks he can hold a torch to me. Ha, what a joke.

“Oh, I do love how you talk dirty to me. How about you make good on that threat and give me a proper spanking. Teach me a lesson, make me behave.” I put all of my training into use with that. Man, I never realized how sexy I could make my voice. God, this guy is so gullible. He is like a tomato and there isn’t even anyone around us. I almost feel bad for using his sexuality to my advantage but then I remember all of the times he has confiscated my blanket and pillow or dumped my lunch. Now, I don’t feel as bad as I did a few seconds ago. So, now the question is if he takes the bait or not. I can see his mind working but will he fall for it.

“I bet you would like that wouldn’t you?” Nice, I nailed it. Never underestimate a teenage assassin who has been trained all his life to convince people to do what they want. Not only did he miss with a trained assassin, he messed with the best in the business. “Is that what you want me to do, spank you until you’re a good boy? Until you beg me for a chance to be good?” Good, he is slowly moving towards the cell. That is his mistake, and I’m going to profit off of it. He is getting comfortable now; the blush is slowly starting to disappear. Ok, now I just got to keep pushing him.

“Yeah, I want you to make me beg for forgiveness. I want you to punish me for all of the bad things I did.” He is just a few feet away from the bars so it shouldn’t take too much longer. Just to make sure that he keeps progressing, I went over to my bed and laid in what I assumed was a sexy pose. I really hope this works because if it doesn’t, then I am really fucked. If the bulge in his pants was anything to go by, it was working.

“I think that the other guards wouldn’t notice if I was gone for ten minutes.” Oh thank god, he is reaching for the bars with his keys. He fell for the act, but I want him really in a frenzy so I’m going to amp things up a little bit.

“Oh, I don’t think they would notice it either Officer Morris or do you want me to call you something a little more appropriate? Maybe I can call you Daddy since your gonna spank me.” Just to be sure, I also threw a wink in. I think it worked because all the sudden he went still as a statue. Hopefully, that’s just shock, it really won’t be good if I triggered something. That would throw off the whole plan and that would suck. Nope, it worked because he is moving so quickly with the keys that he dropped them. He picked them back up and he opened the door. He is rushing towards me with pure lust in his eyes. Apparently he seems to have forgotten the fact that I am in prison for a reason. Well, that is his mistake. Just before he reaches me, I pull out my toothbrush from underneath my pillow. I spent a good three hours sharpening it yesterday in case something like this happened. Just as he went to kiss me, I stabbed him in the stomach and shoved the toothbrush up through his rib cage. He was dead before he hit the floor.

I searched his body for the keys and found them in his pocket. Poor guy, it's too bad that he decided to make a teenage assassin his prey. Thinking of situations that I might face ahead, I also grabbed the Billy club and his gun. I stashed the gun in my waistband but I held the Billy club ready. I only have about ten minutes before the guard shift and when he doesn’t report it’s going to look really shifty. So I started jogging through the halls, and I am really lucky that memory training was one of the bigger aspects of the academy. To anyone else, this would be just a huge maze of gray cement hallways but I know this place like a map. Three left turns, two right turns and one more left turn and I’m outside the laundry room. Everyone here always says they feel bad that I got my yard time taken but I did it on purpose. I strategically planned it so that I wouldn’t have to deal with any prisoners while this went down. The struggle is going to be getting in the laundry room and out to the loading dock. Since the prison is really big on supporting the locals, they ship out all the laundry to get it washed. So, it’s essential that I make it to the loading docks. Since Tyson was caught, there are bound to be at least two officers in the laundry room. As I peak into the laundry room, I count two guards standing behind one more guard beating Tyson.

“All you have to do to stop this is tell us who you were trying to smuggle out Tyson.” Great, its officer Tyler and his two lackeys officer Artie and officer Smith. They are known infamously for having snitches all over the prison and beating prisoners to a pulp to get information. It is actually kind of sad if you think about it. Officer Tyler is a power hungry dick and his sidekicks are so stupid I’m convinced that they share a brain. This should be fairly easy. I quietly open the door and sneak behind a laundry container. I take another look at the situation and they are all focusing on Tyson. 

“Just tell us Tyson, it would be so much easier than what we're going through now. I am getting blood all over my hands! It is absolutely ruining my knuckles too. Just tell me so we can move on to the real culprit.” Tyson looked up and I noticed how badly they had beaten him. He had bleeding cuts all over his face and they were bleeding into his eyes. They also had given him a black eye and a split lip that would definitely need stitches after this. That was just his face; I wasn’t even considering his body in the slightest. 

“Well, you see if I told you I would be a snitch. The problem is, I ain’t no snitch.” I was surprised that Tyson could speak. I was also surprised at his apparent strength because I know trained assassins that would have given the information by now. Then he did something that surprised me even more. He looked directly at me, winked, and then spit directly into officer Tyler’s face. This sent officer Tyler into a frenzy and he started hitting him nonstop so I walked up behind the two lackey idiots and slammed their heads together hard enough that I heard bone crack. Officer Tyler turned around and when he saw me he went to grab his baton. Before he had even touched it, I grabbed his wrist and broke it with a sharp twist. He yelled out in pain but I was past caring at this point. I had witnessed him beat one of my only friends until he was bloody and broken. I took the Billy club and hit him as hard as I could in his throat crushing his windpipe. I wanted him to suffer and suffocating to death seemed pretty good to me. I walked over to Tyson and he was facedown. I felt for a pulse but I couldn’t find one. I turned him over and closed his eyes. I grabbed a nearby sheet and laid it over top him. 

As I walked out to the loading dock, there was a van waiting for me. I got in and it started driving away. After about 500 hundred feet I heard the prison siren go off. It didn’t matter now though because I had made it out. After about three miles, I asked the driver to stop. When he stopped, I asked him to check me for injuries and when he got out I swept his legs out from underneath him. I put a round into his head with the pistol I had stolen and I got into the driver seat of the van. I kept driving until I hit a town and I found the local bar. There I ordered a stiff drink and looked around. There was nothing to noticeable, just some huge bald guy with a British guy who kept making knock knock jokes. I took the drink from some girl with red hair and took a long sip. All the sudden, the room started spinning. The British guy started motioning towards me but then the world went black.

When I woke up, I was in a white room. I looked around and noticed two people. I immediately got into a defensive stance but they just looked at me like I was behaving weirdly. After a moment of silence, I asked them the only relevant question. “Where the hell am I?” 

“I am glad that you asked, I am the Counselor. You are in the base of a program that is a highly secret military program known as Project Freelancer.” He said with a calm tone that suggested that everything was perfectly fine. Does he know that I was kidnapped? He must but I don’t remember him from the bar. Maybe he saved me from my kidnappers but then that means that he thinks that I owe him something.

“Okay, how does that come into play with me? Did you kidnap me and just expect me to participate?” I couldn’t help but be angry. Did they know who they were fucking with? I was the most dangerous person on my entire plane. 

“We have recruited you because of your unique background. We believe that you can be a possible asset Project Freelancer. As for your kidnapping, you had just escaped prison and we were taking precautions.” What the hell? They think they can just take me like I am a thing to be owned. I am a renowned assassin; they could’ve at least showed a little respect.

“Okay, so I am a recruit then?”

“Yes, we find you to be quite extraordinary.”

“What is expected of me if I am to participate?”

The other guy finally spoke up, “You will be expected to follow military code and complete any missions we give you. Failure to do so will result in immediate dismissal from Project Freelancer and back into your jail cell.” Well, that really narrows down my choices. I am not stupid; I know when I have been beaten so I will participate for now. If I see fit to leave the program, then I will.

“Alright, I will join your program.”

“Good, please select one of the names from the list in front of you. All of our agents are given a codename to keep the identity of our agents confidential. You may choose any of the available names.” A screen of names popped up in front of me and I didn’t recognize a single one of them. I looked through them and selected the coolest looking one I could find. 

“Excellent choice. Now you have the choice of picking one primary color and trim for your armor.”

“I want black armor with black trim.”

“Very well, welcome to the program Agent California.”


	2. Waking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not posting for so long. I'm trash at balancing exams and writing. I hope to update more often.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.  
Man, even the alarm fits the army stereotype. Well, I guess that means I'm up. Growing up the way I did you had to n learn to wake up quickly. The higher ups were not very forgiving. Taking a glance at the clock tells me that is 5:30. There is a set of armor sitting in the corner. There is also a not on the night table. 'Instructions are with the armor. Be ready be 7:00.' That's weird, why would armor take so much time to put on? The more important question is why I didn't notice it being delivered? I was so light a sleeper that my leader used to question whether or not I actually slept. I was known as the lightest sleeper on the team. Well, I might as well get ready with the armor. 

I finished at about 6:30. The armor only took so long because I had to calibrate every thing specific to me. Apparently, this program was not expecting any Sanghelo. Not unlikely seeing as how 99% were wiped out when the covenant attacked. I remember the invasion like it happened yesterday. I was training at the academy for my graduation exam. I was part of a very exclusive program that took the strongest and smartest children and raised then to be in our military. I was part of the elite assassin program. I was the leader of the best performing squad in the academy. I outclassed half of the staff of the academy. I trained so that I was the best. I prepared for any situation with any circumstances. However, nothing could've prepared me for what happened. Originally, we were in an alliance with the covenant. We didn't bother them and they didn't bother us. This changed when they decided they were going to attack Earth. We refused to aid them because we had no grudge with Earth. We did not wish to involve ourselves in a war in which we had no place. I was part of the delegation that delivered this news to the prophet of the covenant. When we delivered the news, he said he understood. As we were leaving he snapped his fingers and we were surrounded. We had been unarmed to keep things peaceful so we were defenseless. My group of seven was forced to watch the covenant invade and slaughter our people. They killed everyone, men, women, and children. It made no difference, they slaughtered every being without mercy. We were held in the prison cells of the main ship. They did make one fatal mistake, they underestimated us. Three of the seven members of the delegation were assassins. We broke free of our cell after three months of watching the invasion. By then, it was to late though. They had killed almost all of our population and kept less then 1,000 of us alive to be sold into slavery. We had failed our people and it had cost billions of lives. We fled to the ships to escape and in the process 4 of us were gunned down. Only myself and the 2 other assassins remained. We each got into separate air crafts and tried to escape. Before we could get away, they gunned down my teammates. I escaped to a planet called Reach. When I flew into the airspace, I was shot down by the city. They put me into prison thinking I was just a normal citizen breaking a law. That was one of the blessings of being a Sanghelo. We look almost identical to the human race. The only difference is in our eyes. We often have irregular eye colors. The most common color of eyes on Lorrain was purple. The most rare was blue. I was one of these people who had a rare eye color so I blended with the humans. 

I was pulled out of my reminiscing by a voice. "Agent California."

"Yes..." were in the hell was that voice coming from. 

"I am the ship's navigational AI, you may address me as F.I.L.L.I.S. I have been asked by the director to make sure that you have put in your armor. You have fifteen minutes before Agent York is coming to escort you to breakfast. Please be ready by then." "Okay, thank you F.I.L.L.I.S." Well, that was weird. Looks like my first day is going to be something pretty unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to add some backstory to build up the story. Let me know in the comments what you think. Any criticism is appreciated.


	3. I'm A Piece Of Trash

So I completely forgot about this story and i might try to continue it but I don't know if anyone would read it. Drop a comment if you want me to bother to finish it or if I should just R.I.P. It.


	4. The Fight

The door opens and standing there is someone in tan colored Armour. I don't know what he wants but i do know one thing. Assume everyone is dangerous until it can be confirmed that they aren't. I just stand there waiting for him to address me. He seems to finally take a hint and he clears his throat.

“I am agent New York. You can call me York for short if you'd like. The director assigned me to get you to breakfast and to the training rooms so that we can evaluate your skill.”

He seemed eerily familiar to me for some reason. I felt like i had heard his voice before. He turned around and started to walk away so i followed. He led me down a lot of gray hallways. They were identical but i had a feeling that i would figure them out rather fast. He eventually led me to breakfast where there was a layout of fluffy yellow piles and some brown stuff. York started to put some of the stuff on his plate. He looked at me and i could tell that underneath his Armour he was wondering why i wasn't eating. The truth was that i didn't recognize any of this food so i simply just walked over to an empty table and sat down. I looked around and analyzed the room. Looking around, i saw to agents decked out in purple Armour. They seemed to be in an argument and they looked alike. They're probably twins which means they should fight well together. I also saw a hulking mass of white Armour sitting at another table. He looked to bell taller than even me. That was no simple feat considering that I was about 6’9. All of the Angelo were tall considering we were a planet that prided itself on warriors. Very rarely did we have anyone under 5’10 and when we did they were made into diplomats. Making a mental note of him, i continued to survey my surroundings. I noticed that there was someone in sea foam Armour talking to York. They looked at me and started to walk my way. When they reached my table, they sat down as if i had invited them. Then the sea foam started talking.

“I am agent Carolina. I am also the commander of the freelancers so you will address me as Carolina. Why arena’t you eating anything?”

I just continued to look at her and i figured that it would piss her off if i ignored her. So of course, thats what i chose to do. I just silently looked at her and waited to see how she would react. She simply just took her helmet off to start eating. York did the same thing so i scanned their faces. Carolina had green eyes and long red hair that seemed so familiar and York was just an average looking guy with brown hair and brown eyes. I just sat silently and waited for York to take me to this training room.

After a while, he got up and dumped his tray. He motioned for me to follow him so i got up and followed after. He led me down more gray hallways and we eventually got to an observatory deck. He pointed a door and said, “You wanna go that way and that will take you to the arena. Good luck California.”

I was excited, i finally got to talk with my fists. I walked into the arena and there were three agents opposite of me. One was wearing bright yellow Armour, one had neon orange Armour, and the last had a neon green set of Armour. I didn't understand all of these bright Armour colors. They would ultimately only hurt the agents in the field when they needed to hide. Either way, i didn't care because i would beat them no matter what color Armour they had. 

F.I.L.L.I.S. came over the loudspeaker and informed us that the match was about to begin. As she announced that i would be fighting Ohio, Michigan, and New Mexico these stone pillars rose out of the floor. On them were these sticks and the other agents were picking them up. I grabbed mine and i took on a battle stance. As soon as F.I.L.L.I.S. said begin New Mexico rushed me.

He ran at me with speed and took a swing but i dodged underneath it and hit his legs out from underneath him. As he tried to get back up, i hit him really hard in the head so that he would be incapacitate. He stayed down and i noticed a huge crack in his visor. The other two started to slowly approach me and i could tell they were trying to get on either side of me. They circled me until there was one on my left and on my right. They ran straight at me with one swinging high and one swinging low so I couldn't dodge. At least that was their plan, and it almost worked. I had to time it just right but i did a spinning jump so that i turned sideways in between their sticks. As soon as i hit the ground, i hit Michigan in her ankle and i tried for Ohio’s head but i missed. They took a step back but i wasn't having it. I rushed Michigan but changed my path at the last second to confuse Ohio. I was rewarded with a direct hit to the chest on Ohio. With one smooth motion, I hit Ohio in both legs, his chest, and his head. I heard running as i finished the motion so i did a 180 and noticed Michigan had jumped in the air to try to slam me with her stick. I used my stick and her motion to my advantage and flipped her over me. I hit her a few more times on the ground and the round was over. F.I.L.L.I.S. came over the loudspeaker announcing me the winner.

Some guy came into the room and took all of our sticks and then left. F.I.L.L.I.S. then announced that the fist to fist portion would proceed shortly. This is where it was gonna get good.


	5. The Fight Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to end this work very soon because i have pretty much lost my idea and creativity with this work. I don't plan to leave it unfinished however.

After what seemed like a ten minute break, the other three agents came back into the room. Agent New Mexico had gotten a new helmet and Ohio and Michigan were back to standing condition. Something seemed very different though because there was no way they should be standing straight let alone without showing any sign of pain. F.I.L.L.I.S. came over the loud speaker and signaled that the match had begun. They started to circle me and I prepared for their earlier approach. They surprised me however because Michigan rushed me instead of New Mexico this time. She ran in a strafing line so that I couldn’t get a direct idea of what angle she would hit me at. While I was focused on her, Ohio had rushed up behind me in a straight path to my open back. Now I understand, this was their specialty in combat. They specialized in close combat, especially fist tot fist. This routine would’ve caught most people off guard but I was a trained Angelo. Time to show a bit of what I can do in a fist to fist combat situation. I engaged Ohio first by turning around and using his momentum to flip him over my shoulder and drop him. Turning around, I dodged a left, a right, another right, another left, and a kick that would’ve left me with a little more than a concussion.   
Ohio was back up and he had started to move towards where we were and I knew that if he entered the fight I would lose this fight. I didn’t want to pull out my full strength or speed but these two were leaving me no choice. Michigan threw another punch at me and I realized something. These weren’t the same people I had fought earlier. These people were significantly more skilled so I would have to actually let myself fight at me level to win. The person in Michigan’s armor threw another kick and I caught her leg this time. I twisted it it sharply and then delivered a punch to her gut that sent her back about five feet.  
Ohio rushed me as soon as he had an opening, opting in for a flying kick. I ducked under it and responded with a sweep at his legs which he jumped. He kicked at my head but I dodged it in time. I stood back at my full height and looked back at him. He was circling which meant that he was waiting for something. Michigan. I turned around just in time to see her running at me. Alright, I am done with this game. I side stepped her and grabbed her in a head lock. I punched her in the back of her rib cage four times and then shoved her forward. While she stumbled forward, I ran past her and slammed her face down into the floor. I got back on my feet and took a glance at her. She had a noticeable crack in her visor.  
Ohio walked toward me and he started to swing. He got three swings off and I grabbed his wrist on the fourth swing. I flipped him using his wrist and I heard it snap. I then kicked him hard in the helmet and I saw it crack. Turning around I noticed that New Mexico was still watching me. He walked towards me and he pulled out a knife. I see how it is and he’ll regret that. He isn’t going to leave this fight alive if he attacks me with the knife. He took a slash at me and I dodged it easily. I spoke for the first time that day.  
“If you try to cut me with that knife again, I’ll kill you before you can comprehend what’s happening.”  
He rushed me again with another slash and I snapped. I would take no mercy on this guy. I grabbed his hand on the third slash attempt and I broke his wrist. I then broke every bone in this guy’s hand with one grip of my full strength. He fell to his knees and I let go of his hand and put him in a headlock. As I was about to jerk his neck and end his life, I couldn’t move. I heard F.I.L.L.I.S. come over the loud speaker.   
“Armor locks going into effect due to unsafe battle conditions.”  
Then I felt a needle in my neck and I was out cold.


	6. After the Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the inactivity on this story. I'm going to try to start writing again because I really enjoy it. I appreciate the patience and anyone still bothering to follow this story.

Waking up, I took a quick survey of my surroundings and noticed that I was sitting in a hospital bed. Upon further inspection, I appeared to be in the medical wing of the MOI. In a bed next to me was a woman with a head wrap that blocked her hair color from me. She was probably suffering from a concussion judging from the wrap and her comatose state. That’s probably Michigan. Wait, I forgot that about the switch up in people wearing the armor in combat. There is no way they were the same people; they had fought completely different. Either way, that wasn’t the issue that needed to be addressed currently. 

I stood up and ripped the wires out of my arm, and noticed my armor on a stand next to my bed. I started putting it on and just when I had clasped the last lock on my helmet I heard footsteps. York turned the corner and looked at me. He was silent for a moment before he said anything.

“I can’t give you an explanation as to why all of the agents you were fighting were replaced by robots and I also can’t explain how you managed to fight three synchronized machines that were being run on a program designed to adapt to fighting style. However, I can guess that you’re probably hungry and I can take you to the cafeteria. Follow me.” 

Without another word, York turned around and left and I followed. While walking behind him, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he said. Assuming the other agents knew, how did they find out about the substitution of the agents? I only noticed because of the fighting style. Why were they switched out for robots instead of agents?

We had reached the cafeteria and there was an apparent argument going on between Carolina and her team. At other tables there were groups of 5-6 agents, most being very colorful. Seriously, why the hell was everything so colorful? Only one table looked appealing to me and that was because it was empty. Just like previously, York made me get a tray and sit down at the table with his team. Whatever heated debate they seemed to be having paused abruptly when I sat down. They all just kind of looked at me when Carolina spoke up.

“I was watching your drills from yesterday and I have to admit that you impressed me.”

Then a blonde man with purple armor spoke up, “Yeah, it’s a shame they stopped the match before you got to show off your gun skill. I was really hoping to see if there would finally be a rival marksman.”

A man, or maybe a mammoth, in all white armor elbowed him and he seemed to realize his mistake.

“Oh, sorry my name is North Carolina and this is Maine. You can call me North and I’d advise that you call Maine by his name because he doesn’t take nicely to nicknames.”

I nodded my head and that seemed to satisfy him; after a moment, the purple armored girl launched back into the argument that had been previously held.

“You can’t seriously fuckin believe that we’re getting AIs. It’s just not gonna happen, not anytime in the close future.”

Carolina seemed to be the opponent of the debate. She responded, “I have heard rumors spread throughout the crew stating that we are. I mean, we need something to help us run all of these gear mods.”  
A guy in all white armor chimed in at that moment.

“This reminds me of a joke. Knock Knock.”

York put his head in his hands and a soldier in grey armor replied.  
“Who’s there?”

York intervened, “No Wash, don’t get him going.”

However, it seemed too late because the man in white armor responded.

“An armor attachment.”

The soldier designated Wash seemed excited and eagerly replied.

“An armor attachment who?”

Every soldier at the table except for the white solder and Wash cringed in preparation for the punch line.

“No, an armor attachment you bloody git.”

No one said anything for a second and then Wash spoke up.

“That isn’t funny. It isn’t even a joke. You’re the worst Wyoming.”

Wyoming started laughing and everyone else at the table moaned. Carolina looked at me and then at my tray in front of me, which held nothing. She had a questioning look and seemed as though she was going to question me. Wash however, beat her to the chase and asked instead.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

I shook my head no to signal that I had no intentions of eating and his posture seemed to get even more curious. He like me had not taken his helmet off.

“Well aren’t you hungry? I eat at every single meal and I still get hungry sometimes.”

I shrugged in an effort to show my apathy towards the knotting feeling growing in my stomach. A slight groan however, gave away my hunger. I had not eaten since my escape from that dreadful prison. Unfortunately, I was starting to show some of the signs of not eating. Carolina’s eyebrows rose and York sent me a questioning look. Wash pulled something out of a compartment in his armor. It was a rectangular package of sorts. They were labeled Fig Newtons, and he held them out to me.

“I know what it’s like to not have anything that looks appealing. These are really good, I think that you’ll like them.”

He hadn’t yet done anything untrustworthy so I figured I would at least try them. Unfortunately, to do that I would have to take my helmet off. I had done a good job of making sure no one knew what I was but any slight detail could change that. The group seemed to pickup on this and started watching me for a reaction. I could eat through the helmet but the maintenance guide advised against that. Slowly, I reached for my helmet and undid the bottom clasps. I took my helmet off and both York and Carolina met me with surprised looks. They seemed to be fixated on my face and I couldn’t help but wonder what they were staring at. I opened the package and looked at the apparent pastry. It was a small brown square filled with purple looking paste and it looked very off-putting. I took a bite and was surprised with how much it tasted like a reya fruit. Back on Lorrain, there were these round purple fruits that were roughly the size of your palm and they were delicious. These tasted just like them and I immediately put the rest of the pastry snack into my mouth. This seemed to please Wash, who started visibly moving up and down.

“I take it that you liked the snack.”

“Yes, it reminded me of a reya fruit.”

Carolina and York were still staring at me and it was getting annoying.

“Is there something I can help you with Carolina?”

She seemed to visibly stiffen at my question.

“Your eyes are like ice, a very unusual color. Were your parents’ eyes the same color?”

Of course, she had picked up on the lightness of my eyes. There was a reason that my eyes were so rare for the population on Lorrain. My eyes were known as the eyes of the reflective because of their clarity. They were supposed to be the most perceptive eyes and those who were gifted with them were often gifted with great tactical strategy or foresight as our leader liked to call it. My eyes had been what had deciding factor in making me one of the ambassadors for the delegation to the Covenant. There I learned a very cruel reality, the reality that even I had no could not have foreseen the eradication of all of the Sanghelo. 

“No, where I come from these eyes are a rare color.”

My tone conveyed my uneasiness apparently because she didn’t ask any other questions. After I had finished 3 more Fig Newtons I handed the package back to Wash. He refused them saying that, “No, I want you to have them. You like them a lot more than me.”  
I nodded my thanks and rose from the table and walked out of the cafeteria. I headed back to my room and found that there was an order for my appearance at the target range.


End file.
